Appointment Brief Appointment of Chair, the Cabrach Distillery

Appointment brief

Appointment of Chair, The

Cabrach Distillery

August 2021 Reference: CAQAVA

The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery SB

An introduction

The Cabrach Trust’s vision is to regenerate The Cabrach as a thriving, sustainable community. Our community-led project is a strategically planned initiative to breathe new life into the area. To achieve this goal The Cabrach Trust has developed a transformational regeneration strategy and masterplan to support new economic activity, including jobs, and environmental sustainability. This plan will promote our local well-being economy attracting new visitors to the area.

THE CABRACH TRUST

The Trust is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee (Scottish Charity No: SC043771). It was formed in 2011 in response to the need to preserve the cultural heritage of The Cabrach - a remote and sparsely populated area on the northern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, in Moray, North East Scotland. The Cabrach Trust’s vision is to regenerate The Cabrach as a thriving, sustainable community. Since its inception The Cabrach Trust’s core operating activities have been largely funded through private foundations, with a small income also derived from rents and other charitable grants.

THE CABRACH DISTILLERY

Once established, The Cabrach Distillery will deliver the Trust’s commercial activities, bringing new opportunity to the Cabrach community, serving as an exciting focal point of the Trust’s activity. The trading company will bring forward the construction of The Cabrach Distillery, in order to distil, mature, bottle and market a rare and sought-after Single Malt Scotch Whisky. An advisory group, including industry experts Alan Winchester and Ken Grier, has helped to scope the distillery plans. A specialist engineering company has designed a blueprint for the small distillery, which it is envisaged will initially produce circa 100,000 litres of alcohol of single malt.

The Cabrach Distillery business plan including the marketing, branding and commercial strategy, is nearing completion. The next step is to refine the working capital strategy and secure the finance to fund the distillery’s working capital requirements. This non-executive director will be instrumental in providing the necessary governance, strategic direction and support to deliver these elements.

BIRTHPLACE OF MALT WHISKY

The Trust proposes to deliver this plan in phases with the first being to utilise the traditional Inverharroch Farm steading, located in Scotland’s Speyside region, to create the home of The Cabrach Distillery. This will be followed by a co-located heritage centre to celebrate the area’s rich culture, telling the story of the early days of illicit distilling and smuggling, which was rife in the area, together with the legalisation of whisky production. At the height of illicit whisky production in the late 18th and early 19th century, the Cabrach was a legendary haunt of distillers. As such these early distillers were the predecessors to Scotland’s successful whisky industry. The Cabrach has played a significant role in the region’s history and is regarded as a birthplace of Malt Whisky.

The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery SB

The role

PURPOSE OF THE POST

The Cabrach Distillery now seek a non-executive director to Chair a small team leading the development of the distillery. They will bring significant spirits industry experience, strong leadership credentials and, ideally, an entrepreneurial management background. They will bring a strong commercial acumen and affinity with the unique social purpose which underpins this remarkable project. The successful candidate will work closely with the Chairman of the Trust, the Chief Executive, and other members of the board. They will play a key role in supporting the finalisation of the business plan as well as playing an active role in raising finance.

Key Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the Chief Executive and other members of the Board to define and achieve the strategic goals and objectives of The Cabrach Distillery; • Act as an ambassador for the distillery and raise its profile both locally and internationally; • Develop and maintain relationships with key existing and future stakeholders; • Establish and build a strong, effective and constructive working relationship with the Chief Executive, both as a sounding board and ensuring they are held to account for achieving agreed strategic objectives as delegated to them in relation to the distillery; • Lead the Board of Directors in ensuring that it fulfils its responsibilities for the governance of The Cabrach Distillery, monitoring both the implementation of the Board decisions and the performance of the Board and its members; • Ensure that the Board is working well together and incorporates the right balance of skills, knowledge and experience needed to govern the organisation effectively.

The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery SB

Person specification

The successful candidate will be a dynamic and commercial leader, capable of winning trust, and will:

• Demonstrate a strong and visible passion for and commitment to The Cabrach Trust’s cause; • Have the vision and drive to help The Cabrach Trust fulfil its potential in terms of the distillery and play its unique role in the local community; • Have personal gravitas and be comfortable in an ambassadorial role; • Have strong commercial leadership skills and experience and strong financial acumen to ultimately drive the commercial success of the distillery ; • Have a track record in demonstrating leadership in the values of diversity, inclusion and equality; • Have strong networking capabilities that can be utilised for the benefit of The Cabrach Distillery; • Have the ability to foster and promote a collaborative team environment; • Have the ability to commit time to perform the role well, including attending events outside of office hours and travel to Scotland; • Have experience of being a Trustee.

The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery SB

Terms of appointment

Time commitment: It is envisaged that the role may require a commitment of circa 3 days a month, on average, but some flexibility would be ideal.

Remuneration: This non-executive director Chair role will be remunerated with an annual stipend. To be discussed and agreed with the preferred candidate.

How to apply

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to The Cabrach Trust on this appointment.

Candidates should apply for this role through our website at www.saxbam.com/appointments using code CAQAVA.

Click on the ‘apply’ button and follow the instructions to upload a CV and cover letter, and complete the online equal opportunities monitoring* form.

The closing date for applications is noon on Wednesday 1 September 2021.

* The equal opportunities monitoring online form will not be shared with anyone involved in assessing your application. Please complete as part of the application process.

The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery SB

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The Cabrach Trust | Chair, The Cabrach Distillery